1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a conductive paste, and an electronic device and a solar cell including an electrode formed using the conductive paste.
2. Description of the Related Art
A solar cell is a photoelectric conversion device that transforms solar energy into electrical energy, and has been drawing attention as an infinite but pollution-free next-generation energy source.
A solar cell includes a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor. A solar cell produces electrical energy by transferring electrons and holes to n-type and p-type semiconductors, respectively, and then collecting electrons and holes in each electrode, when an electron-hole pair (EHP) is produced by solar light energy absorbed in a photoactive layer inside the semiconductors.
A solar cell is required to have as much efficiency as possible for producing electrical energy from solar energy. In order to increase solar cell efficiency, it is important to take produced charges outside without loss, as well as to produce as many electron-hole pairs as possible in the semiconductor.
An electrode may be fabricated by a deposition method, which has a complicated process, a relatively high cost, and takes a relatively long time. Accordingly, a simplified process using a conductive paste has been suggested.
The conductive paste includes a conductive powder and glass frit. However, the glass frit has relatively high resistivity and has a limit for improvement of conductivity of an electrode. Recently, a conductive paste using metallic glass instead of glass frit has been researched.
However, when using the conductive paste including metallic glass, the component for metallic glass may be chemically reacted with silicon for a semiconductor substrate to provide an oxide layer having an excessive thickness. The oxide layer may deteriorate conductivity between the semiconductor substrate and the electrode.